1. Houston Texans — Well, no one saw a shootout with the Jaguars
coming but the Texans found a way behind a huge day for Matt Schaub
and Andre Johnson and keep a tenuous hold on to the No. 1 spot.

2. Atlanta Falcons — Five INTS for Matt Ryan vs. the Cardinals was
very un "Matty Ice" like. Bottom line, another W for the Falcons.

3. Green Bay Packers — They eked one out against division rival Lions
and now need their stars, Clay Matthews and Greg Jennings, back to
make their run.

4. Denver Broncos — The Broncos are better every week in all three
phases. With MVP candidates on both sides of the ball in Peyton
Manning and Von Miller, watch out!

5. San Francisco 49ers — The 49ers were extremely impressive in
blowing out the Bears on Monday night, no one more so than backup QB
Colin Kapernick. Is he still the backup? Aldon Smith WOW!

6. New England Patriots — Tom Brady and Co. unleashed 59 points on
Andrew Luck and the surprising Colts. Unfortunately they lost the
"Gronk" for an extended period.

7. Baltimore Ravens — The Ravens have been impressive without the
likes of Ray Lewis and Lardarius Webb and were again in defeating the
Steelers. Now add S Ed Reed, who was suspended by the NFL for one
game.

8. Chicago Bears — The Bears free fall in this week's rankings as they
have shown again that without Jay Cutler they really struggle. The
49ers exposed this on Monday night in front of the country.

9. Pittsburgh Steelers — Big Ben is recuperating, but now down goes
Byron Leftwich. It's Charlie Batch to the rescue. He's done it before
and this team is resilient.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Greg Schiano for Coach of the Year? He's
got my vote! What he has done with this team in the midst of a number
of season ending injuries to front line starters is nothing short of
remarkable!

11. Seattle Seahawks — A good football team. The defense is
suffocating. Rookie QB Russell Wilson is as good as there is at home
and about as bad as there is on the road. He needs to play like he's
at home all of the time for them to win consistently.

12. New York Giants — The Giants are much better than this team
indicates, but they haven't played like it. This is the time where Tom
Couglin and this team have made their runs in past years. Are they
ready after their bye? We shall see.

13. New Orleans Saints — This team has found its identity. Balance on
offense and a more attacking style on defense has this team getting
hot. A tough schedule ahead makes the task tougher, but they are
playing well and with great confidence.

14. Minnesota Vikings — Can QB Christian Ponder uphold his end of the
bargain? He did last week and if he can do it, the Vikes are a good
team. If not, on to next season.

15. Dallas Cowboys — It wasn't pretty vs. the Browns, but they got a
W. They better close in 2012 or you get the feeling that change will
be coming in the Big D.

16. Indianapolis Colts — The Pats showed the Colts that while they are
having an incredible season, they aren't quite there yet.

17. Cincinnati Bengals — Two impressive wins in a row for the Bengals.

18. Washington Redskins — A tremendous week for RG3 and the Redskins
as they dismantled the Eagles.

19. Detroit Lions — The Lions needed the win against the Packers but
fell short, adding to the disappointment of this season thus far.

20. San Diego Chargers — Can you imagine if they had closed the deal
in their first game against the Broncos? This whole season might look
different for the Chargers and Broncos.

21. Buffalo Bills — The Bills have improved. Their defense is showing
signs of life and the offense has some juice suddenly.

22. Miami Dolphins — The Dolphins have come back to reality. The
reality is they aren't quite there yet as a team.

23. New York Jets — The Jets roller coaster ride continues. Against
the Rams they were headed up!

24. St. Louis Rams — Fresh off a tie with the 49ers in San Francisco,
the Rams laid an egg against the Jets.

25. Arizona Cardinals — The Cardinals continue to look for answers and
continue their slide. This team was 4-0 at one point. Hard to believe.

26. Tennessee Titans — After being humiliated by the Bears, owner Bud
Adams says everyone's job is on the line. Maybe Bud ought to say this
every week as they pounded the Dolphins 37-3.